Chapter 18
Azure Spirit Refining Elixir (靑靈煉丹液).
Essence of Hundred Herbs (百草精髓).
Heaven and Earth Spirit Convergence Water (天地合靈水).
Essence of Green Life (綠命之液).
Three Powers Condensation Elixir (三才凝集丹液).
Moon Forest Essence (月林精水).
One powerful elixir after another was created.
Any Alchemist who saw them would have stared with their eyes wide open.
Naturally,
Kang Ha-min drank every elixir as soon as it was made.
And then,
"Ugggggh..."
His stomach gave up.
Anything could become harmful if consumed excessively.
He groaned in pain while throwing up the expensive elixirs he had swallowed.
"I told you not to drink too much."
Baek Cheon-myeong looked at him with disappointment.
"With your stomach in that condition, you'll need to rest for at least a week."
Kang Ha-min looked devastated.
Ah.
My dream of becoming a Testosterone Man.
It had been delayed by an entire week.
He had gotten too excited.
Ha-min admitted his mistake and regretted it.
He had wanted to become stronger so badly that he had completely lost control.
"Master, open the door to the Heavenly Spirit Medicinal Forest."
"The Heavenly Spirit Medicinal Forest?"
"Yes. Since you've already eaten those elixirs, you should at least absorb them properly instead of simply suffering from them."
Ha-min had been so excited about the Aether Spring that he hadn't thought about anything else.
He opened the door.
Just like before,
fresh wind flowed through it.
The Heavenly Spirit Medicinal Forest.
This place was still overflowing with the energy of life.
"You consumed precious elixirs. Simply wasting them would be a shame."
"The Heavenly Spirit Medicinal Forest overflows with high-quality natural energy."
"It is one of the best possible environments for absorbing elixirs, so it should help."
"You're right. Just breathing here makes me feel more comfortable."
Even his stomach felt better.
"Prepare to meditate."
Baek Cheon-myeong put down his wooden sword and sat.
Kang Ha-min sat beside him.
His meditation posture was clumsy.
But he could clearly feel the energy of the elixirs filling his body.
"The method is simple."
"Simply guide the energy so it can move naturally through your body."
"You consumed so many high-grade elixirs that even if you fail to absorb all of them, it won't matter."
Ha-min didn't interfere with the energy.
He simply focused on the feeling of his body becoming more comfortable.
Slowly,
Kang Ha-min entered deep meditation.
Baek Cheon-myeong watched him quietly.
Then he turned toward the forest.
Once again,
he could sense living presences somewhere inside.
They didn't feel particularly friendly.
He still had no idea what they were.
As long as they don't harm Master, I have no reason to care.
But if they crossed that line,
he would punish them immediately.
Perhaps I should use this opportunity to find out what they are.
Baek Cheon-myeong made his decision and prepared to stand.
Then he suddenly stopped.
He slowly looked back at Kang Ha-min.
From the outside,
Kang Ha-min merely looked like he was meditating.
But Baek Cheon-myeong could see what was happening inside his body.
The energy from every elixir Ha-min had consumed
was moving to the correct locations on its own.
Instead of being wasted,
the energy was actually multiplying inside him.
What is this?
Baek Cheon-myeong was surprised for one reason.
Kang Ha-min was using Baek Cheon-myeong's own technique.
Spirit Absorption Return-to-Origin Art (吸靈歸元功).
A cultivation method that absorbed spiritual energy and turned it into one's own foundation.
It was a unique method Baek Cheon-myeong had developed during his long stay in the Heavenly Spirit Medicinal Forest.
Of course,
Kang Ha-min and Baek Cheon-myeong shared their souls.
It wasn't strange that Kang Ha-min could use some of Baek Cheon-myeong's abilities.
But still,
I never expected him to use the Spirit Absorption Return-to-Origin Art.
In truth,
even Ha-min immediately using the Star-Destroying Sword Style had been strange.
Sharing souls shouldn't have allowed someone to reproduce such techniques this perfectly.
...Does Master possess something unusual himself?
Baek Cheon-myeong quietly watched Kang Ha-min.
Gravekeeper of a Ruined World was not a Class that could be given to just anyone.
Tower Awakening granted Classes according to a person's talent and destiny.
Ha-min clearly possessed talent as a Gravekeeper.
Then...
What kind of destiny was Master born with?
Baek Cheon-myeong quietly raised his head.
What destiny had the Tower placed upon Kang Ha-min?
Perhaps we'll learn something once we reach the Third Floor Realm.
Starting there,
they would begin directly encountering the gods who governed the Tower.
Through the Spirit Absorption Return-to-Origin Art,
Kang Ha-min's mana was rapidly reorganized.
His body had originally been almost completely empty,
so this growth allowed him to skip several stages at once.
"Good grief. He's my master, but I can't even imagine what kind of monster he'll become."
In another week,
Ha-min would also be able to summon another corpse from Grave Mountain.
And he would probably absorb that corpse's knowledge in the same way.
Baek Cheon-myeong sat back down while watching Kang Ha-min continue growing.
Master was in the middle of growing stronger.
There could be no interruptions.
Baek Cheon-myeong always placed his master above everything else.
That was their contract.
How much time had passed?
Kang Ha-min suddenly opened his eyes as though waking from a long sleep.
Sunlight poured down from above.
For some reason,
it felt warmer than usual.
What was this?
His body felt strangely light.
It was like finally removing a heavy coat he had been wearing for years.
And for some reason...
there was a smell.
"Ugh!"
A horrible stench struck directly through his nose.
The instant he smelled it,
Ha-min covered his face.
"You're awake."
Baek Cheon-myeong's voice came from nearby.
"Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong, what is that smell?"
"Look at your body."
His body?
Kang Ha-min looked down.
Then he panicked.
He was completely naked.
On top of that,
his body was covered in a thick, sticky black substance.
There were traces on the ground that looked like his clothes had melted away.
"There is a stream ahead. Let's go there."
Why not just leave and use the bathroom?
Still,
Baek Cheon-myeong looked serious.
So Ha-min followed without arguing.
The place Baek Cheon-myeong brought him to contained a stream.
It was a strange stream that seemed to glow with moonlight.
"This is the Moonlight Flowing Stream (月光搖川)."
"It is ideal for washing away even the smallest traces of impurities remaining in the body."
Baek Cheon-myeong urged him into the water.
Fortunately,
it wasn't very cold.
Instead,
it carried a warm energy almost like a hot spring.
"Uhhh..."
A relaxed sound escaped Ha-min's mouth.
It felt as though years of dirt were melting away from his body.
Then he looked down into the water.
"Huh?"
Confusion escaped his mouth.
His reflection looked different.
His skin was much clearer.
The small amount of fat and the fine wrinkles he had naturally gained over the years had disappeared.
Even his eyes seemed slightly larger.
His nose looked sharper too.
He had become fairly handsome.
Of course,
his naturally timid personality hadn't changed.
Still,
this could easily be called an upgraded version of Kang Ha-min.
"...Did I get drunk?"
"You drank plenty of things stronger than alcohol."
Kang Ha-min looked up after hearing Baek Cheon-myeong.
Baek Cheon-myeong threw several herbs into the stream.
"Body Reforging (換骨奪胎)."
"Every impurity inside Master's body has been expelled."
